Are You Killing Your Kid With Coddling?

When I was a kid we played in the desert with BB guns and snakes. That’s where I learned about life. Kids need to get out and do stuff. Technology is great, but technology needs to be balanced with real activity.

My friends and I used to walk miles through tumbleweeds and cacti, in the middle of the summer, to Lake Powell. Then we’d follow the highway back into town. We’d see rabbits and snakes. Sometimes we’d make the hike without proper hydration or skincare and we’d do it in sandals and swimming trunks. We explored as much of that territory as we could before it got dark outside.

We used to shoot our BB guns at everything. I shot a raven’s beak off in my back yard; I shot this kid who threatened to run over my dog with his bike; I shot myself in the foot; my friend shot his brother in the eye. Talk about hand-eye coordination!

We played rough and nobody ever got seriously hurt. We’d play tackle football every day after school (we called it Res. Ball because we lived close to the Navajo Reservation). When you played Res. Ball that meant you were playing without rules. It was a legitimate play to kick someone in the junk, you just had to be willing to fight ‘em if you did.

Here in the city kids are missing out. They don’t explore, they don’t learn to balance, they don’t learn how to walk in sand, they barely play. Dodgeball is too tough and tag can leave kids feeling alienated. What a crock! Being a kid is lame these days! Let’s bring back the good old times.